Insanity Has It's Gray Areas
by Ender's Fangirl
Summary: Four years since the bifrost has been destroyed, Sif is the last person of the nine realms to be captured by Loki, who now rules all. She has one word to describe him- insane. But being privy to a tender moment changes her views for just a moment.


Sif had fought valiantly, but in the end, defeat was inescapable.

It had been more than four years since the great bifrost had been destroyed, and she was the very last Asgardian to stand in _his_ way. Of course, they should have known what was coming, when the Gatekeeper began to be shielded from entire realms at a time.

The whole court was saying exactly what Thor refused to believe- Loki Laufeyson, now openly known as a Frost Giant, was behind it. Everyone knew that as the only immortal to possibly be living amongst the peoples of the other realms, and as the only immortal to have ever mastered magic so completely, it could only be him.

The real trouble, however, was not until the Gatekeeper began to rediscover the realms with his extraordinary vision- only to find them frozen and cold, icy and snowy, barren and without life.

It was with regret that Thor admitted only Loki could be behind this. Odin sent Thor out with the best warriors the House of Odin had to offer, but it was not enough. One by one, their armies fell. Odin himself went to fight the infamous trickster god, leaving Sif and the Warriors Three behind as the last defense of Asgard, should he be unsuccessful.

He was. Upon discovery of his failure, the Warriors Three, Sif, and the Gatekeeper did the only thing they could do- scatter themselves across Asgard, in the hope to outwit, out run, outlast Loki, but no avail. Volstagg was first to go, followed by Fandral and the Gatekeeper. For a short year, Hogun and Sif hid together and ran together on and off, before Hogun sacrificed himself to the servants of Loki o that Sif may run on.

Sif had been painfully alone in a realm slowly turning itself to the likes of Loki- cold, heartless, and unforgiving.

She did her best, and fought hard when they caught up to her- the goblins, the creatures of night, warlocks of cold, and worst of all, the Ravens, animals that had come to symbolize Loki. They captured her, and took here to the now frozen palace of Asgard. There in the throne room, the spear of Odin was held in the grasp of his pale hands. The metal horns of his crown were shining. His forest green robes contrasted with the cool blue ice and white snow accents.

Loki.

His back leaned against one arm rest, his legs hiked over the other. A lone Raven sat upon his shoulder, and he appeared deep in thought. Looking up to see the source of the sounds, Loki's emerald eyes finally landed on Sif.

"Sif, my dear friend," he said, his voice even colder than the walls of the palace, "How kind of you to come."

"You say that like I had a choice," she spat, struggling against the grips of the thugs holding her. As if he just noticed her discomfort, Loki stood, and strode over, waving off the guards. As they moved away, Sif eagerly tried to move, but found her arms invisibley bound, her body was not hers at the moment.

"Come, let us get away from these," he gave the guards a look of disgust, "Primitive men. In fact, I've got quite the treat for you." He smiled and a giggle of delight escaped his mouth. He took her arm and began to skip. Invisible strings pulled at her limbs, making her skip along with him.

Stopping, he waved his spear, and where Sif had assumed was a wall, a pair of doors shuddered as they were forcibley opened on icy hinges. He turned back to wink at her, before moving forward again. Once again, her limbs were not here own, and her legs forced her to follow Loki.

They walked for a good twelve minutes, before Loki put up a hand, and Sif skidded to a stop. Loki grinned gleefully.

"Now, good lady, I proudly present the first Exhibit- Midgardian hero, Captain America." Sure enough, there he was, posed with his shield in the air. His body was covered in a very fine layer of ice, so fine that none of his features were so much as blurred. Sif watched in amazement, as the hero behind the ice made no move to escape his feeble prison. Almost as though he had read her mind, and knowing Loki, that was entirely possible, Loki spoke.

"Surely you don't believe I would trap anyone with regular ice?" He chuckled, clearly at the apparently absurd notion. Sif did not move. But his meaning was clear. He had been harnessing magic since he could barely walk, and time had only made him stronger in it's unknown arts.

Apparently, Sif's reaction had been displeasing, because Loki was frowning. He thought a minute, before the great big smile returned to his face. "I've got it! Here, follow me!" He walked along, and once more, Sif was forced to follow. They continued along, and Sif began to notice a horrifying pattern of other ice covered Midgardians.

As they walked along to wherever they were going, Sif saw the rest of the Avengers, a man in a suit, and a man in a leather jacket with a black eye patch. On this man she noticed a look in his eye, almost as if he knew what Loki was capable of, knew that he would lose, but he was pulling out his mortal weapon anyway for the sake of resistance. She admired that. She sucked in a breath, trying to stop the evidence of Loki's madness get to her. She had to stay strong.

But she couldn't stop thoughts from buzzing in her head. How many mortals had walked these halls, not knowing they would soon join it's occupants? And did that mean she was next? And where was Odin, Lady Frigga, and Thor? What of Heimdall, Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg?

"We're here!" Loki called, once again gleeful. "Look," he said proudly presenting a display. Sif's jaw dropped in horror as she caught sight of Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral. Each of them were more horrifying than the next. With the thin ice, and the unrealistic clarity of it, the statues were hauntingly alive. As if one little touch to the ice would be enough to free them.

Loki, never one for hiding his flamboyance, had posed them. Hogun was in the middle of throwing one of his signature throwing knives towards a thick ice foe, while Fandral had a sword in his hand and Volstagg at his back, who had a club in his meaty fists. Sif silently wept at the sight of her imprisoned friends. She commanded her muscles to twist away, and to her great surprise, they obeyed.

Her relief was short-lived, and her grief was only worsened, as she fell to her knees in front of yet another display- This one of the Allfather sitting upon a silver throne, Lady Frigga at his side. Openly sobbing know, she buried her face in her hands, crying as she could not have before, crying because capture meant all was lost.

"Tsk tsk," Loki said from above her, "You better not cry. Thor can't stand to be near someone who's crying." After gasping for regular breathing, Sif looked up at Loki, trying to comprehend his words.

"What could that mean? Why do you speak in riddles?" she all but shouted at him, distraught. His eyes narrowed.

"I suppose not," he decided. Sif wiped at her cheeks, as though ridding herself of her tears would rid her of her grief. Her body lifted off the ground as invisible strings took her control from her once more. Loki watched her carefully, and as her body was righted, a Raven flew into the hall and landed on Loki's shoulder. Making clacking sounds with it's beak, Loki's face looked as if he were listening to it.

As the Raven continued it's strange sounds, Loki's face continued to descend into a stormy grimace. By the time the Raven finished it's speech, Loki had already begun to stride back in the direction they came, and automatically, Sif was forced to follow.

Sif didn't know how long they walked, not long, but it wasn't quick either. Her muscles were getting tired of walking in such a foreign method.

"Where are we going?" Sif demanded, the silence giving her back some of her boldness. Loki didn't answer, simply kept going, keeping his gaze ahead. _Will he not look at me because he is angry with me? _Sif wondered, _Or is he angry at someone else?_

After what seemed an eternity, or at least to Sif, who was not familiar with measuring distance within a palace where all surroundings looked exactly the same, Loki stopped at a pair of doors. Upon seeing them, Sif gaspd- Unlike the rest of the buildings of Asgard, which had slowly turned icy and cold under Loki's control, the pair of doors before them were Asgardian metal, no traces of ice at all.

With a quick wave of his hand, the doors opened, and he walked in. Sif was dragged in right after him, and Sif let out a squeak as the doors almost closed on her. It took her a moment to get used to the room- It was in it's original state, like the outside of the doors, there was no ice in this room. She looked around, wondering what merited this room for such special treatment.

Her jaw dropped for the second time that day when her eyes landed on a figure across the room, sitting in a chair staring out the window. It was... Thor. He was really there, Sif had blinked several times to make sure of it. His expression was vacant, as though he were only half there.

Loki made quick work of walking across the room to the chair Thor was sitting in, shedding his helmet and setting down the spear of Odin on his way. He knelt down by Thor's side.

"Thor," he murmured, "My helpers told me you won't eat." Loki watched quietly and waited for Thor's reaction, which didn't occur for a few minutes. When it did, it was slow. Thor turned and looked at Loki, and a goofy grin spread across his face.

"Loki," he said, voice impossibly childish, "You came." The hard, cruel, insane expression had disappeared from Loki's face, and was now one of deep love and caring, even a hint of worry.

"Of course," Loki answered. "Thor, why won't you eat?" Thor frowned, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"I asked to see you and they wouldn't make you come. So I said I wouldn't eat." The frown disappeared and was replaced by the smile. "And it worked. You came." Loki's jaw trembled ever so slightly, and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Sif could tell it was taking all his self-control to keep them from falling.

"You musn't do that," he whispered, one pale hand reaching up to gently stroke Thor's face. "It makes me worry about you." Thor's face, still half-vacant, and childish, changed to look abashed.

"I'm sorry," he said, lower lip quivering. A tear slipped down Thor's cheek, and Loki's hand moved to wipe it away. Taking a deep breath, Loki stood.

"Thor, please don't do it again. I have things to do, and you must know I can't always come. But you know I will always visit, whenever I can." Thor nodded dutifully.

"But it's lonely without you Loki," Thor murmured, more to himself than Loki.

"I know," Loki responded, "Which is why I brought a friend." Sif suddenly found her invisible restraints releasing her. Loki looked over to her, green eyes pleading. Sif was torn for a minute- before deciding to go with it. Even if she chose to run, she'd be caught, and then Loki would have no trust in her. But at least, if she decided to go with Loki's plans, she might be able to do Thor some good.

She walked over to join them at the side of the room, as Loki walked back to over by the doors. They both stopped in the middle of the room. Sif looked at him, but he only stared at the floor ahead of him.

"Loki," she said softly, "What happened to him?" Loki made a noise- was that a sniff? Loki's eyes looked in her direction for just a moment, before returning the floor.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, before sweeping out of the room. Sif turned and watched him until his emerald robes disappeared behind the closed doors.

"Sif," Thor said, capturing her attention. Sif turned gave him a smile, albeit a sad one.

"It's me, sweetie." She walked over and knelt by him as Loki had. Thor sighed.

"I wish Loki wouldn't leave so often," he said. The childish words sounded so out of place, especially when said with his deep voice.

"I know sweetie, but I'll be here too, okay?" Thor nodded, but she could tell from his look that he was thinking it wouldn't be the same. "We'll pull through," she promised, and as she watched the doors through which Loki had disappeared, she knew it was promise she could not keep.


End file.
